


To Better Understand You

by stifledlaughter



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Bondage, Consensual Kink, Fluff, M/M, No Smut, Platonic Relationships, Romance, sharing is caring and caring is fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21874024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stifledlaughter/pseuds/stifledlaughter
Summary: Akashi slowly stroked the underside of Midorima's chin, causing the kneeling boy's chest to rise and then fall with his slow exhale. Takao noticed the relaxing of Midorima's face, and slackness in his shoulders. He continued to watch the slow, practiced dance unfold. He wondered if he would ever have the elegance to take part in it.  He hoped he could. But first, he had to learn.---(Upon finding out some of his partner's interests, Takao turns to an unexpected source to learn more.Sure, it's weird to team up with that guy. But he's willing to work with Akashi if that means being there for Midorima. )
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou/Midorima Shintarou, Akashi Seijuurou/Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari, Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari
Comments: 1
Kudos: 43





	To Better Understand You

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [droit de seigneur](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12133209) by [bmouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bmouse/pseuds/bmouse). 



> This was directly inspired by @bmouse's excellent fic droit de seigneur! While it's definitely not a sequel or anything, I had never really considered Akashi/Takao in any context before reading that fic.
> 
> A few things about this piece:  
> 1\. It's entirely self-indulgent, which all my fics are I guess, but specifically in that I get the feeling it's not what most people want when it comes to reading about BDSM. However, it's been my lived experience to do nearly this exact scenario many times, and I rarely (if ever!) see platonic, nonsexual BDSM in fic, so I wanted to represent that. I took a lot of bits from my personal platonic BDSM experiences and put them in here, so shoutout to everyone here in this fic in spirit haha.  
> 2\. Writing this was difficult because I feel I write Akashi differently than so much from the rest of the fandom, because he unexpectedly became one of my favorite characters and I have this certain image of him but hey it's my fanfic and I do what I want I suppose!  
> 3\. The pairings were fuzzy to articulate in the tags- if you came exclusively for Takao/Akashi you'll probably be let down but I promise the rest is good :D Also there is mentioned AkaFuri but since they don't interact in this fic it didn't feel right to tag it as such.

_Akashi slowly stroked the underside of Midorima's chin, causing the kneeling boy's chest to rise and then fall with his slow exhale._

__

__

_Takao noticed the relaxing of Midorima's face, and slackness in his shoulders. He continued to watch the slow, practiced dance unfold._

_He wondered if he would ever have the elegance to take part in it. He hoped he could._

__

__

_But first, he had to learn._

\------

There were small moments that led to Takao figuring out what he wished he had known sooner. 

For example, the time with the bear.

After practice, the team usually showered, changed, and headed home, sometimes groups splitting off to head to the convenience store. Because Midorima's lucky item that day was an unusually large stuffed teddy bear, he and Takao had ended up staying later than everyone else trying to stuff it in the rickshaw. 

"Maybe you should have considered changing your sign for today, just today, so we wouldn't have to deal with this lucky item," suggested Takao as he ruthlessly straddled and wrestled the giant teddy bear down to the rickshaw with a combination of his belt and a spool of ribbon that had been a former lucky item that he had found at the bottom of Midorima's backpack.

"Don't be absurd," snapped Midorima, who was standing back and letting Takao do all the work. And Takao did it all anyway because he was entirely whipped. 

He wasn't a master of it by any means but after several minutes of struggling and pinning the bear, he managed to completely strap the bear down. Takao triumphantly crowed, "Hah! I won! You're helpless now, you giant fluffy monster. Shin-chan, now you fit in here."

He clambered out and turned to Midorima, who remained silent. His face was reddened and he was staring at Takao, somewhat wordlessly. 

"I didn't rip it or anything!" insisted Takao, gesturing. "It's definitely not going to fall out either. I strapped it super tightly in. He's not going anywhere."

"Yes, I see that," managed Midorima hoarsely. He settled into the rickshaw and tucked his head into his knees. "Go on then," he commanded, somewhat shakily. 

Takao chalked it up to Cancer being a low ranking that day and moved along. 

\----

Another moment had been, perhaps, more telling. 

He and Midorima had been heading out of practice when he overheard the coach talking to several of the third years around the corner. 

"We have decided who will be starting at the next tournament, as there will be some changes to the lineup."

Takao stifled a gasp and, probably not entirely thinking this through, pinned Midorima to the wall and clapped a hand over his mouth. Midorima didn't get subtlety at all and probably would have just kept walking by or talking. But this was important and Takao had to eavesdrop. 

"We understand how it's been difficult to manage offense aggressive play with our new defensive strategy but we feel these changes can help."

_Please don't bench me please don't bench me please don't bench me_ , frantically thought Takao as he tried to think if he had supremely fucked up recently at anything. He doubted they were replacing Midorima but who else would they remove?

"And we- actually, we should take this somewhere more private. The underclassmen sometimes come this way after practice," said one of the third years, and with murmured agreement, they left, much to Takao's disappointment. He released Midorima and sneakily peered around the corner.

After he was sure they had left the hallway (thanks, Hawkeye) Takao turned back to Midorima, sighing. "I guess we will have to wait for next practice to hear about whatever that was- Shin-chan? You okay?" 

Midorima was still, his back to the wall. He was breathing heavily, but trying to hide it. He raised his fingers to his lips, and then looked down at Takao, something akin to fear in his eyes, but not quite that. It wasn't fear at Takao. It was... unreadable for the moment. 

It's not like he overstepped any boundaries or anything. They were dating, after all. Granted they touched less in school for propriety's sake but no one could see them. 

But Midorima said nothing and didn't even fight it in his half-assed tsundere way. Why was he looking at Takao like that? 

Takao felt there was something very important he was missing here. 

\---

The third incident was the charm, it seemed. 

"Ugh I'm just so _done_ with this paper," groaned Takao, rolling around on Midorima's bed. "I'm not gonna proofread it. I'm just going to turn it in. I hit the length requirement and that's all I care about." 

His boyfriend scoffed and didn't even look at him from his desk. "That's not the right attitude for success, Takao." 

"All I care about right now is keeping my grades up enough to keep playing basketball and get into a decent university in Tokyo." With that Takao stood up and walked over to Midorima's desk to look at his paper. "Oh, you suck-up! You've gone way over the minimum length requirement!"

"Some of us want to get into Todai or Keio," said Midorima archly, not even deigning his partner with a glance and instead focusing on his paper. 

"Take a break and hang out with me," said Takao, propping his chin on Midorima's shoulder. 

"In a moment," he said, waving Takao off. "I'm proofreading. It's the task you need to do after you make a draft of your paper, if you were not aware." 

Takao snorted and wrapped his arms around Midorima's upper chest and neck, nuzzling in. "Come and play with me now, that's an order," he said seductively, knowing his cheesy theatrics would get him a disgruntled shove or loud sigh, which is why he did them, obviously.

But seconds passed and nothing happened. 

_Or.... not?_

"Hey I was just kidding, we can hang when you're done proofing," said Takao but stopped when he turned to face Midorima directly. 

His face was flushed, and his eyes, darting away from Takao, were wide. He didn't seem to be able to speak, out of embarrassment or maybe something else 

_Wait. Wait. Wait._

"Hey... " said Takao slowly. "Come sit with me for a second. We can get back to this later. Promise." 

Midorima, sensing that this was one of the rare times that Takao was bring very serious, acquiesced, moved to sit on the edge of the bed, not quite looking Takao in the face. 

"So... We've done stuff," said Takao, trying to start of vague. "And I've really enjoyed that. And I'm pretty sure you have too."

Midorima, choosing to focus on his framed posters on his wall, nodded stiffly. 

"But if there's something else you want to try more, or things that I can do, you know, you can ask for that. Like how I asked for certain things." Granted, this wasn't quite at the 'No, Shin-chan, keep the glasses on while you blow me' level but it still applied, right? 

"There's nothing I require of you, I already enjoy your company and what we do... together," said Midorima, sounding like Takao was asking him to reveal state secrets against his will. 

Takao sighed. He wasn't going to push Midorima to places he didn't want to go, but he also knew who he was working with, and walked that fine line often with his partner's permission. 

"The other day, when I pushed you against the wall and covered your mouth so we could overhear who was going to be the new starters... Did you like that? If I did it again, would you like that?" 

Midorima's face was burning but he nodded. His hands were held together in his lap, and they were fidgeting anxiously. 

Takao looked around for the notebook that he had been drafting his assignment on and tore out a sheet. Sometimes saying these things out loud was hard, so he would make this easier. 

"I'm going to write down questions, and you can take your time and answer them. I'll sit with my back to you so I won't see your face. Okay?" 

Midorima looked pensive, and then said, "Yes," out loud, which Takao took as an encouraging sign. 

He wrote down his questions, ones that had been percolating in his mind for the past few minutes. Once satisfied, he handed his partner the paper, settled back-to-back with him, and figured he might as well proofread his paper while he was sitting here. 

About fifteen minutes later, Takao had discovered several errors in his paper and was secretly glad that he had been guilted into proofreading it when there was a gentle prod at his back. Not turning around, he stuck his hand out to the side, where Midorima passed him the sheet. 

1\. If you don't want to do that sort of stuff with me, you don't have to. But I would like to talk to you about it, at least. 

That is fine. 

2\. Which of the following interests you: 

Being held against something by me

Me putting my hands over your mouth 

You being told to do something by me 

You being restrained by me 

Yes to everything. 

3\. Have you done this with someone else before?

Yes. 

4\. I don't have any experience with this but you know I'm a fast learner and I want to do whatever it is you would like. Is that okay with you? 

Yes. 

5\. Did I leave anything out you're interested in? 

Yes, but it's easier to show you than tell you. 

With that, Takao folded the piece of paper and slipped it into his pocket. He knew it was probably too soon for him to make Midorima turn around and face him, so he put out his hand at his side in a clear invitation to hold it. 

A second later, a hand met his and squeezed, and Takao smiled. 

"So... proofreading actually worked. I found some grammar mistakes," admitted Takao, to take the heavy mood away.

Midoriama huffed out a laugh behind him. "I told you so."

\---

It didn't come up again for a week or so - they were slammed with practice and other papers, and Takao hadn't even really had time to formulate next steps. He wasn't quite sure where to go from here, but he also knew that it was pretty much up to him since Midorima seemed shy enough about the whole thing. 

They were walking home one day in comfortable silence when something nagged at the back of Takao's mind, something that had struck him as particularly interesting when he first read the answers to his questions on that sheet of paper. 

"I have a question about...one of your answers," said Takao, gently lofting the topic to Midorima, who could choose to ignore it if he wanted. 

Midorima, predictably, didn't meet Takao's eyes but kept looking straight ahead. He did, however, say, "Yes?" 

_Well that was easier than I figured_ , thought Takao. "You said you had experience with this with someone else before. Can I know who it was?"

They hadn't really gone into 'who else had you dated' conversation yet, as Takao had some embarrassing stories he would prefer to bury far away, and thus was totally fine with the topic not being breached. But if he had to tell those to get this story out, then he would. 

True to form, Midorima said, slyly, "You tell me someone you've had... 'experience' with first, and then perhaps I will tell."

Takao sighed. "Fine. Kotama Takeshi, middle school. I thought it was dating but apparently he just liked cuddling with anyone and when I went in to kiss him, he slapped me with his beautiful, beautiful hands. Are you happy? Now tell me yours. It can't possibly be as awkward as mine " 

"Akashi Seijuurou." 

Takao froze on the sidewalk. "Excuse me? Scissors McStabby? ' _I am absolute_ '? That Akashi?" 

Midorima sighed and actually turned to Takao now. "Yes. I wouldn't call it dating but... I suppose what we did was not mere friendship. It was difficult to quantify. Also, you forget, the Akashi I knew was not the Akashi you first met at the Winter Cup."

Privately, Takao still wasn't entirely sure that the 'new' (or was it 'old'?) Akashi he had met briefly several times after his change was any less intimidating. Although, credit where credit was due, he had heard that Akashi had apologized for the actions of his other self and the Saltiest Basketball Squad seems to have mostly made up. 

"Okay so... what all did you do?" asked Takao, trying to quell these feelings of jealously that crawled up from the dark, dark place where he usually shut it in a box and pounded away at it with a hammer. It was something that reared its head occasionally when Midorima spoke of his Teiko days, although he couldn't quite place why it made him feel that way. 

"That's the thing I said that would be easier to show you than tell you," said Midorima. He was now looking at his hands, looking for the words to say and perhaps hoping they were written there. His lucky item, a water bottle, had little to offer him in terms of advice, and Takao felt it was the right moment to nudge.

"What does 'showing me' involve?" Takao had an inkling of what it would be, but the idea seemed so preposterous that he wanted Midorima to say it first. 

At this Midorima gripped the water bottle and turned it over, the water splashing inside of the container. Takao let the anxious fidgeting go on for another few seconds before he said, "Shin-chan, you can tell me. If I don't want to do something I'll tell you, remember?" 

"Akashi-kun could show you. On me." 

_Yep, there it was, what I thought he was going towards but definitely didn't expect for him to say._ "I'm not sure how that would work. Isn't he in a relationship?" He'd heard rumors of it but since he wasn't close to Akashi or whoever he was dating, he didn't really know what that situation was.

"It's not sexual, what he and I had. He of course would discuss it with his partner, as I am doing now, but it would be more of a demonstration than anything. There's nothing left of what we once had, to be clear, whatever it could have been called, but I think it would help for you to understand what I seek."

"I gotta be real, he and I aren't similar at all," said Takao. "Can I even... give you what he gave you?" Guessing by what he already saw of what Midorima was looking for, he could tell that Akashi - steel-willed and intimidating - might have already spoiled Midorima, and Takao wasn't quite sure what he could bring to the table that would somehow supersede the memories that came before him. 

Midorima stopped walking and slipped the water bottle into his bag. He took Takao's hands in his hands and looked Takao in the eye, very confident now. He graced Takao with a rare smile and said, "Yes. You already have. And I believe there is more that we can find there, if you wish to go there with me." 

Takao blushed, unsure of how to deal with all of this unusually straightforward affection. He leaned his head onto Midorima's chest and said, "You're making _me_ blush, Shin-chan. That's my job for you. We've got this all mixed up now." 

\--------

A week or so passed without discussion, except for Takao telling Midorima some times he had blocked off in case Akashi was actually down to do this. But it didn't feel real until Midorima brought it up as they were hanging out on a rest day in between practices. 

"I have been texting Akashi-kun," said Midorima, looking down at his phone after a few short buzzes came in. "However, he did ask you text you as well, to see your perspective on this. He also agreed that this Saturday would work."

Takao put down the video game controller and turned to face Midorima. "Huh. Sure, give him my number. What did he say to you though?"

Midorima pushed up his glasses and looked down at the texts he had been reading over. "He said he discussed it with Furihata-kun, and that he was fine with it."

"The point guard from Seirin?" _Huh. Well that's a surprise._ "So what exactly are the rules for this?" He felt like he was doing something scandalous, that he only read about in erotic stories, but all was perhaps a little too plain for that term. Friends helping friends? Demos? It didn't quite sound like scandal but he sure as hell wasn't about to tell his teammates about it. 

"It might be easier to simply read what he said." Midorima handed over his phone, and Takao felt a surge of.... not _triumph_ per se, but excitement in the trust that Midorima had in him, that he just handed over his texts to Akashi without hesitation or concern. _Who knew of all of that 'trusting your partner' stuff was actually deeply fulfilling? Wild._

Takao skimmed through the texts, which mostly seemed to be greetings and general chatter about basketball until Midorima asked him for the favor of a demo. He saw a few time skips in between texts, showing that Akashi had gone and asked Furihata what he thought about all of this, and then came back.

_Akashi-kun: Kouki is fine with this within the limits I described to him. He and I agreed that what you and I used to do -- all clothes stay on and no kissing on the lips - was acceptable. He will not be joining us, as he is at practice all morning on Saturday, but says that he hopes we 'have fun'._

_Midorima: Tell him thank you. I appreciate you being open to this - I know it has been a long time since we engaged in any of our previous activities._

_Akashi-kun: Of course. I myself benefited from what we did._

Once again, Takao marveled at the sheer politeness between the two of them over something that, to him, still seemed incredibly scandalous. But maybe that was one of the by-products of Teiko, along with the other oddities it produced - things that should have been alarming and weird just weren't.

"I'd like to add another rule," said Takao. "You said no kissing on the lips, but does that mean he kissed you other places?"

Midorima nodded. "Yes, usually the exposed skin on my hands, wrists, neck, or other spots on my face, if the moment was right."

Takao tried to not sound jealous when he said, "If we could.... not do that, that'd be great. I want to be the only one to do that to you." _Was that too much to ask? Is that too integral to what they were doing?_

"That sounds reasonable," said Midorima, taking the phone back and texting Akashi the updated information. 

"Is that too much to ask?" blurted out Takao. _Dammit! There could have been better ways to sound less insecure about this._

"It is not," said Midorima firmly, looking up from his phone and pausing texting. "After all, we are doing this so that you can better understand what I am asking for, but not at the expense of your comfort." 

Takao breathed out at that. "Okay. Good. Okay."

"You can stop it at any moment, you know," said Midorima. "The same way I can, or the same way he can. You have the same words that we do to stop it." 

"That makes me kind of involved, doesn't it?" asked Takao, laughing a little bit. He had talked about safewords and the general concepts that Midorima and Akashi had done together, but hadn't been sure of his role in it, if any. 

"Do you want to be... more involved?" asked Midorima carefully. 

Takao was torn. On the one hand, he already was looking extremely forward to getting to know more about his partner's proclivities and maybe even helping him discover new ones.

But then he'd be... _working_ with Akashi, which was definitely an odd thing to picture. The guy still had this untouchable air around him.

"I don't know," answered Takao honestly. "Let's just stick with things the way they are and if they change I'll let you know. You can let Akashi know that too." 

Midorima nodded and texted Akashi. Takao returned to his video game, quickly losing himself. 

A while later, Midorima taps him on the shoulder. "Thank you," he says, very softly, as if he's scared to say it more loudly. 

"Of course," says Takao, smiling. 

\---- 

The actual logistics of this 'demonstration' were not nearly as dramatic as Takao had imagined these sorts of things to be. He had pictured a seedy bar, or perhaps the basement of an abandoned warehouse. Somewhere new, edgy, with a hint of sexy danger. Maybe late at night, on a full moon, maybe even with some theatric rain outside. 

Not Midorima's bedroom, which had old photos of him from middle school on the wall and artfully arranged precious lucky items displayed. In broad daylight in the morning. After having eaten toast in his kitchen. 

"I gotta say, Shin-chan, this is kind of anticlimatic," complained Takao as they waited for Akashi to come over. 

Midorima threw him a withering look. "What did you expect, Takao?" 

"I mean, I've seen the hentai. I did my due research." He also privately noted that he hoped what they were doing would never lead to what he saw in those hentai because _yikes_. 

"Those are very inaccurate. These things are often more mundane than one imagines." Midorima looked positively offended at the suggestion that he would do the things that Takao had seen.

"I do love your dirty talk, Shin-chan. Say 'mundane' again."

"Hush, fool."

Midorima's phone chimed, and he startled. "Nervous, are we?" smirked Takao, hiding his own nervousness with his usual coping mechanism as Midorima checked his phone, the name 'Akashi-kun' flashing on the screen. Sure, he retreated to humor to hide his feelings, but at least he had also told Midorima he was nervous as well, during their discussions about this, so it wasn't like he was lying.

Midorima did not dignify him with a response (his glare said it all) and instead began to leave the room with a slight huff, but Takao caught his arm.

"Hey," he said softly. "I can't wait to get to know you better, Shin-chan. Thank you for letting me in like this." 

Midorima flushed and looked down, avoiding Takao's keen eyes. "Of course. Thank you for... wanting to see it." 

The moment was broken by a crisp knock on the door, and Midorima quickly turned and went to greet their guest. 

\----

Akashi looked _too damn pretty_ , Takao decided. He was of course deeply smitten with his own basketball prodigy, but he wasn't blind, after all - it would be hard to miss that regal air Akashi carried about him, and his elegantly sculpted features. Takao had even heard from Midorima once that the man actually owned a white horse, like a fairytale prince. 

_I'm guessing riding crop jokes are out of the question? Probably? Damn._

"Thank you for inviting me, Shintarou. It has been a while," said Akashi as he removed his boots. 

"Thank you for joining us," said Midorima politely, providing Akashi with slippers.

_Yeah this is nothing like the hentais. At all._

"It is good to see you, Takao-kun," said Akashi, and Takao wasn't sure what else to do besides respond with "Ah... you too." They had texted a bit, as Akashi had said he would, but Takao still felt like it wasn't all really happening. But now, with all of them in the room, it really was. 

Once they were all settled in the room, Takao wondered how this would start. He desperately wished there was some kind of buzzer to signal them to begin, which was something his body was primed to react to.

"Would you like me to take the lead, Shintarou?" asked Akashi, and Takao felt a cadence to the phrase that seemed similar to how one would pronounce the words to cast a spell. 

Midorima glanced over at Takao, who smiled bravely. _He's checking in with me,_ thought Takao as his chest tightened with glee. Takao nodded, as he figured that was what Midorima was looking for. 

With that, his partner looked over at Akashi and then sank into seiza on the ground. He closed his eyes, and Takao couldn't help but admire the stillness, and the way his partner's eyelashes looked when his eyes were closed. Already he was drawn into this practiced dance between them.

Akashi walked over to Midorima, and Takao noticed for the first time that the man was wearing sleek, well-tailored black and charcoal gray clothes, which accentuated his bright hair and eyes. He looked impeccably put together and in control. Midorima had opted for a simple dark green button down, unbuttoning the first two buttons to reveal a bit of his collarbone, and prim slacks... in sharp contrast to Takao's casual khakis and polo shirt. 

_Noted- maybe step up my dressing game a little bit,_ mused Takao. He had perhaps been lazy on that a bit since he was so used to Midorima seeing him during practice and in his school uniform. 

Akashi produced a pair of slim leather gloves from his pocket and Takao, again, felt slightly out of his depth. But he remembered something Midorima had insisted he keep in mind.

_"Seeing Akashi-kun do what we had done before does not mean I want you to copy him. Instead, you can see what I know and am used to, but this doesn't mean it must be the same. Please remember that."_

_I'll try,_ thought Takao as he watched Akashi slide the gloves on, close to Midorima's head so the sitting man could hear him. Midorima sighed out, and Takao noticed how relaxed his partner already was. 

Akashi slowly traced Midorima's jawline with his gloved finger, curving up to go past his ear, and then down his collarbone. "Look at me," commanded Akashi, and Midorima's eyes opened, brilliantly green, and were gazing up with attention. 

_Look at me like that,_ Takao wanted to say, but he knew he was an observer here, and that, provided he learned what he needed to here, he could have that. He just had to be patient. 

Akashi knelt down and gently cupped Midorima's face in his heads, and began to slowly stroke a similar pattern to before, repeating the journey from the jawline to the ear down to the collarbone, and up the neck again. 

Takao felt it was all very.... slow. He had expected things to progress a lot faster and a lot more commands (this _was_ Akashi after all, even if he was the more reasonable side of him).

But Midorima clearly was into it, and softly asked, "May I?" 

Takao wasn't sure what the question was really asking, but he noticed that this, too, was part of the dance. 

"Yes," said Akashi, and Midorima tilted his head to nuzzle the gloved hand cupping his left cheek, his eyes fluttering shut. Akashi let him stay that way for several seconds, and then he firmly guided Midorima's head back to its forward-facing position. "Mouth," said Akashi simply, and Midorima dutifully opened up, and Takao flushed. 

_Well. I can think of several uses for_ that _particular command._

Akashi placed a fingertip into his mouth and said, "Slowly take it off," and Midorima did so, very gently closing his teeth over the very tip and tilting his head to the side, slowly dragging the glove off of Akashi's slim fingers until it was all the way removed. Midorima held it there, between his teeth, and was breathing harder now. 

Akashi took it from him and placed it on the nightstand, but did not ask him to remove the other one. Instead he stood, circling behind Midorima, dragging his now-naked hand along Midorima's exposed skin, focusing particularly on the neck and jawline. Takao noted that Midorima responded most positively to these, usually with an exhale or stirring of his fingertips. 

Again, Takao was struck by how _slowly_ everything was done. It must have been the anticipation building up that drew Midorima in, and Takao vowed to take things more slowly in the future, even if they weren't doing things like this. 

Did he even have that kind of grace? He was clever and quick, but no one had ever accused him of being elegant. He watched as Akashi trailed off his fingers from Midorima's face and saw Midorima lean forward from his seiza, yearning for the touch. Could Takao learn to be graceful? 

Again, he forced himself to remember what Midorima had said - he was not here to learn how to copy, but simply to understand, gain knowledge. 

He was so distracted in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed that Akashi had gone over to his bag and pulled out several lengths of dark red dyed rope.

_Geez, this guy goes all-out for aesthetics, doesn't he?_ But Takao had to grudgingly admit, it made an impression. He was definitely going to step up his game after this. 

Akashi knelt in front of Midorima again, and did the same ritual with the glove, placing it aside once Midorima had removed it. He then said, "Wrists," and Midorima dutifully clasped them together. 

Takao had always admired Midorima's hands, but also his wrists - after all, those perfect three-pointers didn't just come from the fingers. Given how pale Midorima was, Takao sometimes was enamored with the way he could see the blue veins underneath the skin. This was now highlighted by the red rope that Akashi, with expertise, began to tie around Midorima's wrists, and then crossed them over his chest to then wrap around his torso. The contrast of colors was deeply alluring.

Takao could see the appeal of this on both ends, something he had been trying to do since Akashi began. He understood Midorima's side - it must have felt nice to be the center of attention, and to not have to think about what to do, but just be told - but he had been trying to figure out what someone like Akashi got out of it. But after seeing Akashi work with the rope, making beautiful shapes and lines out of it, he started to see the appeal on the other man's end. Akashi was very into control, sure, but also aesthetics and beauty. The clothes, the gloves, the rope, the geometric shapes he was creating - perhaps it could be likened to art? 

Akashi had people obeying his commands all the time, so it couldn't simply be that which drew him to participate in this. _No,_ Takao thought as Akashi slowly, artfully, pulled the ropes around, taut and tight, around his partner, _he's making something here that is temporary, but very lovely._ Like those sand mandalas he had studied in his religion class at school. It'd all be gone very soon, but in the moment, it was all Takao could focus on.

"Takao-kun," said Akashi, softly, and Midorima did not stir or move. "Would you like to touch him?" 

_Oh, I'm involved now?_ He had fallen into his role as observer so well that he had forgotten it was an option. How _did_ he feel about it?

Unbidden from his mind, his hand reached out, and his mouth said, "Yes."

_Okay, so that's how it is, body. I see._

He stood and crossed the room, and knelt in front of Midorima, as Akashi was now behind. 

"Shin-chan," said Takao softly. "I'm going to touch you." His partner sighed, the nod slow and languid, and Takao reached out to cup his face.

He had never seen Midorima so relaxed, unless he was sleeping. But this was different- he was awake, for sure, but somehow in a suspended state of being. Takao admired how the muscles looked under the ropes. It was no secret Takao liked how strong his boyfriend was (he wouldn't date basketball players if he wasn't into the tall, strong types, after all). The ropes emphasized his body shape, and the arm muscles in particular. 

First he swept his fingers along the jawline, as Akashi had done, and then down the smooth, pale throat. It looked inviting, and so soft. 

_Oh. I can kiss him. That's something Akashi can't do._ There was a small flare of pride in this, although Takao, in his rational mind, knew that he shouldn't gloat about it. This wasn't a competition. 

But that didn't stop him from tilting Midorima's jaw to the side so Takao could kiss the pale column of his partner's throat. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he swore he felt the flutter of an accelerated pulse against his lips when he did, and a soft, almost inaudible groan. 

"He's in a very suggestive state right now, and would respond best to simple, direct commands," commented Akashi, his voice very quiet. He had taken a step back and was more watching now than being involved. 

It was very bizarre to be speaking about Midorima as if he couldn't understand or hear them, but Takao was sort of getting the idea that perhaps that was the purpose. Midorima was in a position where he didn't have to respond, or wasn't required to react unless given specific instructions on how to react. For someone that often felt at a loss for answers on how to act in social situations, Takao was beginning to understand more of what his partner got out of this. 

Remembering how Midorima had reacted when Takao had given his joking order, Takao put his palm below Midorima's chin, gently tapping it. "Kiss it," he said, hoping his voice was firm enough. 

Midorima did so instantly, his face tinting pink, and Takao also flushed, because, wow, receiving a warm kiss on the palm of his hand at his command was far hotter than he had ever thought it could be. _Okay, I definitely see the appeal for me in all of this._

_"_ If I may suggest," said Akashi, still staying back against the wall, "He's particularly sensitive when his hair is firmly held and moved about, but not pulled roughly." 

Takao briefly remembered a time when he had accidentally caught Midorima's hair in his hand when rolling over in bed, and Midorima had told him off for not paying attention. _But this isn't quite the same thing, I guess, if it's done intentionally._

He curled his hand around the back of Midorima's neck, sliding up slowly, making sure to take his time. Midorima leaned into it, sighing, and Takao looked at his elegant lips. _Oh. An idea. One that Akashi didn't have to give me._

He gripped the hair on the back of Midorima's head and tilted it back, and then leaned over, ghosting his lips over his partner's, barely brushing. He heard Midorima moan very, very quietly, and he grinned. It was incredibly rare to get Midorima to make sounds (and _oh how did he try_ , because he was nothing if not a competitive and petty person) and if this was the way to do it, he would easily wear the gloves and the nice clothes and learn to do rope. 

"Should I kiss you, Shin-chan?" asked Takao, praying that he asked the right question, that it would evoke the reaction he hoped for. The warm breath from Midorima ghosted his face, and a soft, "Please" was barely heard. Takao's adrenaline surged in triumph. 

Takao kissed his partner firmly, briefly putting aside that fact that there was someone else less than five feet away ( _if he's already seen all this, might as well go whole hog)_ and then pulled back. Takao watched as Midorima strained against the ropes, reaching up for him, drawn there without thought and guided by need. 

"Ah-ah," said Takao, and he guided Midorima's head back to face down. He felt the heat on his partner's face, amazed he had put it there. 

He wondered if he was being too light, too joking about this. Maybe Midorima wanted this to be more serious, like Akashi was doing. Maybe less teasing, more stern commands. 

"If he didn't want you to be you during this, he wouldn't have let you participate," said Akashi from the side of the room. His voice was steady and sure. 

_Shit! Can this guy actually read minds?_ He had never actually confirmed that with Midorima. He probably should after this. 

Putting that thought aside, Takao stood and walked around so he was behind Mindorima now. He once again wove his fingers into Midorima's hair and gently pulled back, saying, "Lean against my legs. Look up at me."

Midorima acquiesced, and tilted his head back as he did so, baring his throat and gazing up at Takao. As always, the intensity of the gaze stunned him.

_Geez, this really gives you a bit of a complex, doesn't it?_ thought Takao, his heart speeding at the sight of Midorima's intense eyes focusing on him. He bent down and gripped his hands through the ropes, feeling them tense around Midorima's body, although they were fairly tight to begin with. "Akashi-kun, is it safe to pull on the ropes?"

"Yes, although I wouldn't suspend from them. That'd be a different tie."

_Suspend? Like hang?_ Takao's mind flashed back to the hentai he had looked up, and the parts where people were tied up and hauled in the air looked extremely painful. It probably didn't help that in almost none of the hentai the people being tied up looked like they were enjoying themselves. He was beginning to suspect his research had unfortunately been a bunch of garbage. 

"That wouldn't be happening anyhow. Shintarou prefers to remain on the ground. For instance, right now, if you did pull him up, it'd compress his chest and make him feel restrained and controlled, which, as you can guess, is the favored outcome."

_Well that's good to know_ , thought Takao, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy that darted through him at the thought of Midorima exploring things with Akashi. But then he remembered what he was doing, and how Midorima had wanted him to see this so they could develop their relationship together, and the immense amount of trust placed in him. 

"You're being so good right now, Shin-chan," said Takao, grinning hugely, and Midorima's pale cheeks, already tinted rosy from everything, deepened further. In another scenario, he would tell Takao he was being foolish, or brush it off. And Takao loved that about his partner - half the fun of dating a tsundere was waiting for the blow to land perfectly and for them to crack in a moment of delightful, sentimental weakness. 

And if the crack looked like a pleased but embarrassed Midorima closing his eyes and blushing furiously, tied up in ropes and at his feet, well, it was lovely.

Takao felt around for what felt like an even weight distribution with the ropes, focusing on two of the thickest ties across the chest, and carefully lifting from the legs, not the back, pulled up.

Midorima groaned sharply and Takao, panicked, glanced over at Akashi, who just nodded and gestured to continue. _Okay, so that's a good noise. Okay. Okay._ He lifted it slightly higher, thanking his basketball practice yet again for giving him muscles. He probably couldn't entirely lift Midorima off the ground but he definitely was doing enough so that his partner felt the tie squeezing around him. The expanding and contracting of Midorima's chest, his sighs, the soft groans - Takao felt a deep, thrumming sense of success at every reaction. 

This continued for several minutes, until Takao felt his arms protesting, and lowered Midorima back down. He gave him a kiss on the forehead, his exhales fluttering Midorima's green bangs. He looked over at Akashi, suddenly feeling wiped, and Akashi unfolded his arms, walking over.

"We're winding down now," murmured Akashi to Midorima, who nodded. Akashi moved in behind him, untying the ropes slowly. Takao picked up on how even the untying in itself was part of all of this. He watched as Akashi pulled the ropes taut as he unwound them from Midorima's body, keeping the tension as more and more rope dropped to the floor. As Akashi did this, Takao sneaked his hand through to touch Midorima's leg and hold it as the ropes came off. 

"As he came back to himself, I usually would rest against him and talked about regular topics such as basketball or school until he started to respond, to return him back to 'reality', so to speak. It was an agreeable way for us both to come back to ourselves after being together like this. However, if you'd like, you and I can talk until he joins in," said Akashi as he coiled the ropes and set them aside. Takao noticed that while the bag was only about five feet away, he didn't get up instantly to put his ropes back, but instead remained in contact with Midorima. 

"Ah, right. The aftercare." He had only found that term through some actually not terrible sites just yesterday, but tried to sound as if he was quite confident in knowing what it was. 

"Was this educational for you?" asked Akashi, who was keeping his contact with Midorima by pressing his leg against the other's. Takao placed both of his hands on Midorima's legs, keeping on eye on his partner. He seemed still subdued and peaceful. 

"Yeah," said Takao, dragging his eyes away from Midorima. "Hey uh - thanks. You know. For doing this. I know it's kind of weird but I really want to be there for him, you know, even if I'm totally out of my depth here." He squeezed Midorima's leg, and was immensely pleased to see a quirk in Midorima's lips in response. 

"It was the least I could have done for Shintarou, given everything that has passed between us." A beat passed. "It is admirable that you did not shy away from this," he continued, looking over at Midorima with - dare Takao think it? - fondness in his eyes. "It can be difficult to find someone that can connect with you in such a way. But when you do, it's incredibly rewarding. And sometimes, surprising in its manifestation." He smiled, his eyes briefly distant. 

Takao wondered what that could possibly mean, and he had a feeling that it wasn't meant for the other two people in the room, but perhaps someone else, somewhere, playing basketball on a Saturday morning. 

"I'll need to learn how to do all of that," said Takao, gesturing at the coils of rope. "Not even sure where to start."

Akashi shook his head. "Rather unnecessary. There are cuffs that can be easily bought that can do the job at the start and are far safer. The level of skill and safety knowledge required for rope can be cumbersome at first, so it's best to wait on that for later once you've established more knowledge of your partner's body and desires. The rest will come in time."

Takao tried to picture Midorima and himself going into the kind of store that sold cuffs ( _like, handcuffs? Or the fluffy ones? Or leather ones?_ ) and stifled his laughter. Not the right moment, but he now desperately wanted to see prim and proper Midorima gingerly poking around a sex shop with a horrified expression on his face. 

"These sorts of things can be ordered online, however," commented Akashi, once again making Takao note to ask Midorima if the mind-reading thing was real and exactly how terrified should he be of it? 

"I'll look into it," said Takao, thinking that perhaps black cuffs would look nice on Midorima. "Oh, uh, so you're going out with that point guard from Seirin. That's cool. Point guards are the most skilled players in basketball, after all." 

Akashi's face lit up at the mention of Furihata, and he smiled, something Takao was still unused to on the normally stern, focused face. "Quite. I could not agree more." 

"Arrogance does not look good on you, Takao." Takao startled slightly, and turned to see Midorima raising his eyebrows at him. A spark of excitement ran through Takao - as immensely engaging as it was to have Midorima in his submissive headspace, he liked having his prickly boyfriend back too. 

How wonderful it was, to be able to have both sides of him now. 

"I'm just saying, you're outnumbered in the room now," said Takao, grinning. "Point guards have the majority, so obviously, we're automatically right. How are you feeling?"

"Quite well," said Midorima, who smoothly reached his hand out to place it over Takao's. They continued chatting for a few more minutes, touching on the upcoming practice games and their musings on the other teams compositions and how that'll affect their chances at Nationals. 

They were interrupted by a series of buzzes on Akashi's phone over on the nightstand. Akashi looked over at Midorima and Takao. "May I?" 

Midorima nodded. "I do believe we have finished." Takao shrugged and said, "Uh, sure." 

Tako briefly wondered why Akashi was asking permission to answer his phone, but Midorima quietly informed him as Akashi picked up his phone and began to text back, "It's considered polite to make sure everyone is done with the aftercare before attending to other needs."

"Ah, right," said Takao, noting down more things to look up after he was done. There sure were a lot of nuances to this, and he once again blamed the hentai for teaching him none of it. There really could have been more educational pages in between all of the screaming and dick close-ups. 

Like, at _least_ some footnotes. 

"Kouki has finished his practice and is ready to meet up with me," said Akashi, stowing his phone away in his bag. "I hope you enjoyed your time with me, Shintarou. And you as well, Takao-kun - feel welcome to contact me should you have any questions."

"Uh, thanks," said Takao. "Have a good time with Furihata-san." 

"I will," said Akashi, that smile ghosting over his lips at the mention of Furihata. "Shintarou, be well."

"You also," said Midorima, and with that Akashi left. They headed back to Midorima's room where Takao sat on the bed, feeling the rush that came with the realization of everything he'd learned that morning.

"And you?" Takao jerked his head up at the question. Midorima hovered in the doorway, looking uncertain.

"I liked it," said Takao plainly, making sure he was as direct as possible. This entire exercise had been seeing Midorima in a very vulnerable position, which was uncommon for him. He wanted to make sure that Midorima stayed open to him being a part of that side of him. "I want to do it again with you, when I can figure out a plan and learn more."

Midorima came in and sat next to him, and threaded his hand in Takao's. "I appreciate you exploring this with me," he said, quietly. "It has been some time, and while Akashi-kun is skilled, I do think I am far better suited with you."

Takao, with an immense amount of restraint, did not do a fist pump at this but instead, as coolly as possible, said, "Thanks, Shin-chan. I think so too." 


End file.
